Explore Religious Heritage Across Europe

The Cologne cathedral became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996, and rightly so. The city has been dominated by the Cathedral's gigantic pair of towers since 1880: it is today the second highest building in Cologne. Its footprint is also impressive, the building covers a total area of almost 8000 square metres. This UNESCO world heritage site is also home to the mortal remains of the Three Kings, which made the Cathedral one of the most important pilgrimage destinations in Europe.

The Cologne Central Mosque was built between 2009 and 2017 after the design of architects Gottfried and Paul Böhm. The mosque, meant for the Turkish Muslim community of Cologne, has a contemporary yet recognisable Ottoman dome, whose transparency invites guests in its interior.

The Communal (Gemeinde) synagogue in Halberstadt was erected in the years 1709 - 1712, and destroyed in 1938. Only one wall from the 1879 addition has been preserved. The building was a massive square structure built with the light-yellowish-grey stone that was generally used in this region for public buildings. The exterior was almost completely undecorated. Each of the four exterior walls had two pairs of windows that were visually unified by an arch. Centered on the west wall was the main entrance. The location of the Torah ark was indicated on the exterior of the eastern wall by a protrusion with a sloped-roof. The building was capped by an imposing mansard roof, a reference to the regional baroque tradition. Significant additions were made to the structure in 1879 by architects Ebe and Bende from Berlin. An infill structure containing separate entrance halls for men and women were added as well as a new exterior staircase to the women's gallery. This filled the space between the original 18th century synagogue structure and the row of houses that had screened it from the street. According to the plans drawn for the reconstruction of 1879, the northern side of the vault was decorated with a depiction of the showbread table in the Temple of Jerusalem. The southern side had a depiction of the Temple menorah. The interior cupola in the center of the vault was painted with palm trees.

The Convent of the Holy Cross is a former Cistercian convent founded in 1270. It was built in several phases in the 14th and 15th centuries. Since the 1980s it has been used as a cultural history museum.

The revolutionary construction of Corpus Christi in Aix-la-Chapelle began in 1928 and the first mass was celebrated in 1930. It was planned by the Architect Rudolf Schwarz in cooperation with his colleague Hans Schwippert. Due to its uncompromising cubic design language and its stringent theological concept, the church of Corpus Christi represents a key work of modern sacred architecture.

The Court Church "To Our Lady" was originally a small chapel that would have been built on the site as early as 962. The chapel was enlarged into the present court church from 1418 to 1499. However, the church was only used by the court of Count Palatine for a few years: when Frederick II became an elector in 1544, he brought his seat of government back to Heidelberg. At the same time, the Count Palatine, who was increasingly Lutherian, also initiated the Reformation in Neumarkt. After many changes of faith, the church finally became Catholic again in 1649, after Neumarkt returned to the Bavarian fold.

The Protestant church in Diedenshausen is a half-timbered church that is a listed historical monument. The current building was built from 1802 to 1806 after the old stone parish church had become too small.

Divi Blasii Church (Church of St. Blasius) is the main church (Hauptkirche) in Muhlhausen's Unterstadt district. It was built in the 13th and 14th centuries by the German Order (Deutscher Orden) and was the first church in Gothic style in central Germany.

The monastery of Doberan is a former Cistercian abbey founded in 1171. The church of its monastery is Doberan Cathedral. Until the Reformation, the monastery had extensive properties and was the burial place of the Principality of Mecklenburg. After surviving relatively unscathed from secularisation, the monastery was looted and damaged in 1637 during the Thirty Years' War, and the monastery church was then used as a warehouse. During the French occupation by Napoleon (1806-1813), the remaining buildings suffered further damage and the monastery church was again used as a warehouse. Between 1883 and 1896, the church was restored and the interior design was unified in neo-gothic forms while retaining most of the medieval furniture. Restoration began in 1962 and continued inside the church in 1976.

Dobrilugk Monastery was a Cistercian abbey founded on 1 May 1165, the day of King Sigismund of Burgundy, and was therefore dedicated to Saints Sigismund and Henry. It existed until its dissolution during the Reformation. Although the son of Emperor Ferdinand I was able to regain dominion of the monastery during the Schmalkalde War (1546-1547) and reintegrate it into Lower Lusatia, the Catholic ruler did not allow other monks to enter the monastery. Today's Doberlug Castle was built on its grounds after the end of clerical life in the middle of the 17th century.